She Knew Better
by Jedi of Grace
Summary: Pre-ESB and pre-Ord Mantell. Han and Leia know better than to try and start a relationship, but sometimes they just can't help it!


Leia knew better than to let herself be caught alone with Han Solo. Hadn't he talked about leaving? Repeatedly? She had no business at all furthering any kind of relationship with him. Not today or any day. Ever.

But then they'd been in a scheduling meeting. Assignments for the week had been handed out, plans made. She'd needed someone to take her off-planet to pick up a load of freon, of all the ironic things to need on an ice planet. They also needed to restock some maintenance supplies. Leia had a contact on Ryloth that had agreed to give her much of what they needed at half-price, but the seller was timid, and she needed to be the one to personally pick it up. So, for better or worse, she'd asked Han to take her.

Leia thought she probably should have also known better than to ask Han for any kind of help, but he'd just been standing there, leaning against the wall after the meeting, looking like he had nowhere in particular to be and...he'd looked over at her. Since she'd been caught staring at him, she thought she had to somehow make it seem like she was looking at him for a reason, so she'd quickly asked him to help her move some crates of old tools and computer parts from her office to the southern storage units. He'd readily agreed.

She'd thought it would be a quick chore. But as she struggled with her load, she wished she had just put it all on a single transport and been done with it. She had forgotten just how long the south passage was, and her arms were aching.

"You doin' alright, Princess?" Han called from somewhere in the icy tunnel behind her.

"Yes," she answered. She stumbled slightly though, almost dropping the crate. She steadied herself and kept going, but her fingers were starting to cramp and she wasn't sure she could carry the heavy load much farther. Then she banged into a pipe running along the wall, making a clanging noise. The crate slipped from her fingers and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

Leia didn't move as she stood rubbing her sore hands together, trying to think. _Great_. _Now what_? The last thing she wanted was to tell Han she couldn't carry it. He had suggested she take one of the lighter crates, but of course she had just grabbed the closest one to her, which was not anywhere near light. Sometimes her stubborn pride could be really annoying.

She was about to pick the crate up again when Han came up behind her.

Han knew this was a bad idea. But when he saw Leia massaging her hands as she stared down at the crate, he simply stopped paying attention to the rational part of his brain and went towards her.

"Hey, let me help."

"I've got it, thanks." Leia's voice wasn't cold, exactly, but it wasn't terribly warm, either.

Han ignored her and set his crate on top of hers, preventing her from picking it back up. Leia shot him a look of irritation.

"I can do it," she insisted. "I just needed to rest for a minute."

"I know. But it's really heavy and the last thing you need is a sore back."

Leia huffed and moved in front of him. Was she going to move _his_ crate? Did this woman ever give up? He took her arm, gently pulling her back to look at him. He wasn't sure what compelled him, if she wanted to carry the heavy crate and strain her back, so what? But he felt this odd sense of protection when it came to her, and if his crate was heavy enough for him, he didn't see how her tiny body could lift hers.

"Leia, will you just let me get it?"

She stopped and faced him. She was very close and blast if she didn't have the most beautiful eyes… Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and brought his lips to hers.

Leia made a startled sound, causing Han to pull back quickly.

"Uh. Sorry, I…" Han's words trailed off as he saw that her face didn't look upset. At all. In fact, her face had a lovely heat as she looked at his lips, then back up to his eyes. Well, okay then! He reached for her and kissed her again, longer, slower. Her arms came up between them, almost as if she thought of pushing him away, but she didn't. She only seemed to nestle closer to him.

Han carefully pulled her closer with one arm. He put his other hand on the wall behind them, afraid to completely wrap her in his arms for fear of scaring her away. But he felt no reluctance in her lips as they moved softly against his own. He peeked with one eye and saw that her eyes were also closed. A rush of warmth spread through his body, bringing with it feelings of tenderness...feelings he would have to sort out later. Right now he was quite busy. He was just about to bring both arms around her and deepen the kiss when he heard voices nearing.

Leia jumped back, bumping into the crates he had stacked, knocking over the top one. The lid flew open and the sound of metal crashing to the ground filled the air. He heard her quick intake of breath as she saw what she'd done.

"Oh hey, don't worry. I'll get it." Han started to move around her just as two pilots came around the corner. He glanced at Leia, whose face was burning red.

"Hey, guys, can you give me a hand with this? I didn't see where I was going and just about knocked the princess over."

"Oh, certainly. Are you alright, ma'am?"

"Yes, um. Of course. Thank you." Leia moved to the side to let them by. She looked at the floor, at the crate, anywhere but at Han or the other men.

"Hey, Your Highness, you can go grab the next crate. We've got this," Han said.

"Okay," was all Leia said before quickly disappearing. Han watched the empty hallway for a moment, then shook his head as he turned back to the waiting crates. What had he just done? Chewie was going to kill him. They had decided that very morning on leaving sooner rather than later. Though Chewie seemed in no particular hurry to get out of here, they'd agreed that Han needed to get this business with Jabba taken care of, and they were both tired of this blasted ice planet. But at today's meeting, where he'd planned to ask for clearance, he'd found himself instead accepting another supply run. Two, in fact.

Han could barely admit to himself, much less Chewbacca, that he didn't want to say goodbye to Leia. He knew she would be upset, and it wouldn't be the good kind of upset that he usually enjoyed; the kind that brought a spark to her eyes and a bloom to her cheeks. No, she would be hurt if he left, he knew. And while he liked to think he didn't care...he did. Right now he cared a lot.

"Thanks, guys. Will one of you grab this one?" Han indicated Leia's crate with his boot. "Storage unit twelve."

"You got it," one of them answered.

Han carried his crate down the long passageway, hoping to leave the pilots behind. He needed to sort out his thoughts. For one thing, he had just kissed Princess Leia. And not only had she not sentenced him to death right there on the spot, she had seemed to enjoy it.

He broke into a grin as he remembered her closed eyes and soft lips. Yeah, he was going to need to kiss her again. Soon.

What had she been thinking? What in all blazes had made her think she could kiss him? Han had initiated the kiss, she reminded herself, but she certainly hadn't stopped him. And when he had pulled back, she'd suddenly felt...bereft. She hadn't wanted to leave the moment, to step away from his warmth and comfort… Hoping he might kiss her again, she'd looked up at him. When his lips brushed hers again, all coherent thought had fled..

Her cheeks began to burn again as she reached her office. She needed to get control of her thoughts. Now. They could have been caught! What if it had been Luke or Riekeen that had come by? She would have been absolutely mortified.

She sat down on a crate and buried her face in her hands. _What had she been thinking?_

But, on the other hand, they _hadn't_ been caught. And his lips were just...perfectly firm and soft and warm and…

Well, _now_ she was thinking that she wished he had followed her back to her office. She couldn't stop the memories of his handsome face, so close to hers...his eyes darkening as he came even closer to kiss her… She'd loved the feel of his warm body against hers.

She lifted her head and pushed the thoughts aside. She had too much to do, and to sit here mooning over that man was just a waste of time.

* * *

Han didn't meet Chewbacca's eyes as he boarded the _Falcon_ later that night. He walked past him and headed straight for the galley. Grabbing himself a cold ale, he took a long drink before walking back into the main hold. He knew Chewie was waiting for him to say they were clear to go. This morning, when they'd been discussing when to pack up and leave this frozen rock, Chewie had asked point-blank if Han was ready to leave his friends here, specifically the little princess. Han had rolled his eyes and said yes, he was definitely ready to leave the argumentative, sarcastic, aggravating, _little_ princess _._ She may have been little, but she could be hugely annoying.

Several women on base had indicated they'd welcome any advances Han might be inclined to make, whereas Leia, her royal highness of iceness, had always seemed exactly the opposite. She'd made it abundantly clear the only thing she would welcome from him was abject loyalty to her cause. Anything more only got in the way of her mission and she simply "didn't have the time." At least, that was the impression he'd had, until today.

Today had been different. Today it felt like she had thawed considerably. But he'd looked for her on his way back to her office, and then again when he returned to the storage units with another crate. She'd been nowhere to be found. Had she been avoiding him? He'd gotten no message about a cancellation of their mission tomorrow, though, so he didn't know what to think. All he knew for sure was that she had kissed him and he knew her well enough to know that if she hadn't wanted to, she wouldn't have.

Han took a seat at the computer terminal. He poked a couple buttons, just out of habit, before resting his head back on the chair, closing his eyes, ignoring Chewbacca.

Chewie growled at him.

"I'm not scowling. I'm resting," Han said without opening his eyes.

Chewie, not one to beat around the space bush, asked his question.

"No, I didn't get clearance. They asked if I'd take a supply run tomorrow and another one next week. They sounded desperate, so I said yes," Han said, hoping the simple explanation would be enough to satisfy his overly curious friend.

But no, Chewie quickly growled another question. Blast that Wookiee.

"The princess asked me, okay? Happy now? Then she asked me to help her move a bunch of junk from her office. Which I did. Then I kissed her. And you know what? She kissed me back. So yeah. I'm taking those supply runs. So stun me."

Han rose and went to the cockpit, leaving the snickering Wookiee behind.

* * *

Leia took a deep breath as she reached the _Millennium_ _Falcon_. She couldn't help feeling like this might not be such a great idea. She hadn't seen Han since their kiss yesterday, and she was admittedly a little nervous. What must he think of her? She'd so quickly and easily fallen into his kiss. Too quickly, perhaps. Would he try again? Did she want him to?

She stopped walking and looked behind her. It wasn't too late; she could stop this whole thing and find another pilot. Luke would probably take her in a heartbeat.

On the other hand, why shouldn't she go with Han? Why not see what might happen? She hated to admit it, but she'd thought of little else besides that kiss since yesterday. A big part of her wanted to kiss him again. Another part wanted to just walk away and get back to work. Thinking about Han was distracting. And yet, deep down, if she was completely honest with herself, what she really wanted was to tuck herself up right next to Han and never leave. When he had kissed her, her heart had soared and for the first time in months; she'd felt warm. But that was crazy. It must have been her imagination.

She resumed walking. Yes. It was definitely her imagination. One did not feel warm just from kissing. Or did one? She didn't know. But she did know that there were _plenty_ of reasons she should not allow Han Solo close. Aside from the fact he was constantly talking about leaving, he was always doing things to irritate her. Like, he was always looking at her. And he had this habit of smiling at her from across the room when there was nothing to smile about. Sometimes he even had the audacity to wink at her.

Okay, maybe these weren't all bad things.

Walking up the ramp, she decided she'd work on a list of cons later.

"Hey, Your Worship. Right on time," Han said as he fiddled with the computer terminal.

Reason number one: _Your Worship._

She stared at him, willing herself not to blush and definitely not to look at his lips.

Han looked at her. "You okay?"

"Yes." _Don't look at his lips!_ "Where should I put my bag?" _Do not look..._

"Uh, go ahead and take the main bunk. I'll sleep in Chewie's."

"Isn't he coming?" Without Chewie as some kind of moderator or chaperone, things could get rather awkward. Maybe she should have brought Threepio. Maybe she shouldn't have come at all. Maybe—

"No. The Rogues asked him to help tweak the X wings' nav coms. So it's just you and me, babe."

Reason number two: unwanted surprises.

Reason number three: _babe._

Leia looked at him.

Han looked at her.

Blast it all to the infinite skies of the outer rim! She looked at his lips.

He smiled. Or was it a smirk? Smiled. He definitely smiled.

"I guess I'll go put this away then," she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

Han nodded and turned back to the computer terminal.

Reason four: broad, muscular shoulders. Wait. Why did that irritate her? Because between his strong arms and long legs and beautiful shoulders, he was going to drive her insane. That's why.

But...wow.

He reached up above his head and toggled some switch.

Her mouth watered.

Straightening her own shoulders as she turned away, Leia decided she really needed to focus on the tasks at hand and stop this nonsense.

Maybe if he just kissed her again, she could get it out of her system. _Yes, that would solve my problems for sure,_ Leia thought irritability as she tossed her bag onto the bunk.

She looked around. She would sleep _here_? She'd slept in Han's bunk before, of course, on other missions, but not when her mind was fully and completely consumed by its usual occupant.

* * *

Leia found Han in the cockpit, preparing for takeoff. She eased into the giant copilot's seat.

"All set?" Han glanced at her as she buckled herself in.

"Yes. How long is the trip?"

"About fourteen hours. Not too bad."

Not too bad? What would they do for fourteen long….oh boy. She vaguely wondered if the excitement she felt was natural or something to add to her "crazy" list. In fourteen hours he was sure to try to kiss her again… Her heart skipped a beat. _Crazy list,_ she decided.

Leia watched and followed Han's directions as they made their way up and out of the atmosphere. She always liked entering space, it felt like freedom. The choice was hers, go this way or that? Up or down? All ways led somewhere. She stole a glance at Han. He was already looking at her.

He winked.

* * *

Several hours later, Leia sat alone on Han's bunk. She had his pillow propped up behind her, her legs drawn up as she tapped on her datapad. She was making a list, hoping to sort out her scattered mind.

 **Han Solo: Pros and Cons**

 **Item one: He made me a blended iced kaffe, with real cream.**

 **Item two: As he handed me the tall cup, our hands touched and instead of releasing the cup, he held on and feigned distraction on a nearby screen. We held onto the cup together for a solid minute before he casually let go.**

 **Item three: He said he liked my hair like this.(Two braids, one on either side of my head, becoming one long braid down my back. Just for future reference.)**

 **Item four: He looked at my lips too.**

 **Item five: As I sat with him in the cockpit, he got up at one point and did something on the wall behind me. Then, he reached in front of me, his arm against my shoulder, his head next to my head, his breath tickling my ear, as he flipped a couple switches. When he retreated…**

 **ITEM SIX: He kissed my neck.**

 **Leia looked at her list. When he'd first done item six, she wasn't even sure what had just happened. Until…**

 **Item seven: He said, "You smell good."**

She leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying the memory of his lips against her skin. She'd been all too aware of how close he was, but she had not been expecting that kiss. It had felt so intimate, and so different from the usual way they carefully avoided physical contact. She had no idea where they would go from here, but she'd liked that kiss on her neck, how her pulse had raced and hadn't slowed for what seemed like hours. Merely the thought of kissing him again made her stomach flutter.

"Princess? We're landing in about 10 minutes." The voice from the man himself came over the intercom, startling her.

She pressed the button. "Coming."

She scanned her list again, pausing when she reached the end. In her list of pros and cons, she had eight pros, and zero cons. She frowned as the one and only con she could think of came to mind. She typed it out:

 **Item eight: He's leaving.**

She turned off the datapad and tossed it on the bunk as she got up. Maybe that list wasn't very helpful after all.

But then she stopped, and turning back, she picked up the 'pad, opening it once more to her list. She erased item eight and rewrote it.

 **Item eight: He says he's leaving.**

* * *

The problem with their little skeleton crew was that she and Han had to load the _Falcon_ by themselves. Things had gone along fine until he had distracted her by taking off his jacket, hanging it on a peg in the main hold, then loosening the collar of his shirt. She'd been watching him and then tripped on the step down. Her load had fallen out of her arms and spilled what looked like oil. She'd soon realized it was soap. A lot of soap.

"Whoa! You okay?" Han came to her, holding her arm to help her stand. She'd had to grip his hand hard to steady herself and not fall into the growing puddle.

"Oh no! What do we do?" She and Han both tried to gather the jugs and stop them from spilling further. White liquid was oozing, puddling and making little rivers.

"I guess we clean it up," Han said as he rolled up his sleeves, thus invalidating the previous distraction and taking her focus to a whole new level.

"Can you get the bucket of rags from the galley?" he asked.

As she ran to fetch them, Leia gave herself a mental kick in the pants. She'd made a small lake of soap on the decking of the _Millennium_ _Falcon_ simply because she'd gotten distracted. What kind of rebel leader, _princess,_ was she anyway? She either needed to do some serious kissing in hopes of getting it out of her system, or get her mind on something else entirely.

Her mouth formed a small smile. If given the choice between kissing and scrubbing the deck, she would definitely choose kissing.

* * *

"So you ate the soap?"

"Yep. He dared me to, what else could I do? I was just a dumb kid, trying to show how tough I was. But let me tell you, I went to the 'fresher after that, and throwing up soap is just about the most..."

Leia couldn't help but laugh. "I can imagine. No further explanation necessary."

Was he moving closer to her as he scrubbed? She pretended not to notice as she continued her task. She did, however, take several peeks at his bare feet. They'd both taken off their boots to better navigate the slippery floor, and, well, she'd never seen his feet before. They were fascinating. Long, hair scattered about his toes. While thankful she didn't have hair on her own feet, she thought his looked quite masculine and handsome. Could feet be handsome? Cute? No. Handsome. Handsome was better.

"Did the bully leave you alone after that?" she asked.

"Yep. He was afraid I'd dare him to drink from the latrine or something." Han paused as he rinsed his rag. "Yeah, he didn't bother me anymore. And I got a reputation for being really clean, which helped impress the girls."

Leia smiled. Now he was right next to her as he scrubbed and rinsed, scrubbed and rinsed.

"So what about you? I'm sure no one ever dared you to do anything so stupid. But did you ever get your pretty little mouth washed out with soap or something?"

 _Pretty little mouth?_ "Well, actually, yes. Once. I said a bad word." She hung her head in mock shame.

Han gasped absurdly, making her laugh _again._ She splashed him with the water on her rag.

"Only once. The taste of my mother's nuctalyptus scented soap stayed in my mouth for what felt like days."

Han sat back, stretching slightly. He squatted, resting on the balls of his feet.

"So what was this terrible word you said?"

Leia stopped scrubbing and looked looked around conspiratorially. "Sithspawn," she whispered.

Han laughed. "Wow."

Leia smiled and scrubbed, enjoying the easy and fun conversation.

"How old were you?"

Leia shrugged. "Five or six."

"So that cured you, huh? No more swearing?"

"Well, at least not in my childhood."

"Huh. So that's it? One little curse word and nothing else? Never told any lies or snuck out late at night?"

Leia thought for a moment. "Not really. I wouldn't sneak out of the palace, it was well guarded for one thing, and for another, I didn't want to. I was too busy with schooling and training and so on. As for lying, I probably tried it when I was really young, but my mother could always tell, so there really was no point in it."

"I bet I could tell too."

"I bet you couldn't."

Han grinned at her. "Try me."

Leia looked at him. "I like ration bars."

"False."

"I once held my breath for two and a half minutes."

"True."

"I can speak Ubese."

That made him pause, but after a moment he nodded. "True."

"I flunked arithmetic."

"False."

"I'd like to kiss Luke."

"Completely false."

Leia stole a glance at him. "I'd like to kiss you." She held her breath, waiting for his answer.

"Completely true," he said, after the longest second of her life.

She exhaled and started scrubbing again. She could feel her face flaming. What was she doing? Had she taken complete leave of her senses? She'd just said out loud, to him, that she wanted to kiss him. If she were to make a list of her most embarrassing moments ever, this would be at the top. And yet...she'd said it. Loud and clear. But he hadn't moved.

She glanced at Han again, who was studying her closely, still perched on his haunches. She turned back to scrubbing.

After a few moments of silence, she glanced at him again and noticed a puddle of soap suds that had pooled under his backside.

She smiled at him.

He smiled back.

She reached out and touched his knee, then gave a little push, sending him sprawling backwards into the puddle.

Han scrambled up. Leia kept scrubbing, her body shaking with laughter.

"Well, your highness, I think you have a few more lessons to learn." He reached out and grabbed her bare foot. "Like, 'be kind to one another'."

Leia shrieked and tried to resist, but the slippery floor and her laughter seemed to be siding with Han and she fell down on her own backside and watched helplessly as Han pulled her closer.

She fought, though she was sure he could tell she wasn't fighting very hard. She tried to push him back with her hand, but he took her wrist, then the other and before she knew it, he had her pinned down. He was so strong! No wonder he could carry those crates so easily yesterday. His handsome face was so close, she could see the day's growth of his beard, the way his hair swept across his forehead. His eyes were shining, his lips slightly parted. She was reminded of one of those female aldergulls who had chosen the male with the fanciest tail and the best mating dance. Han Solo was indeed a fine specimen of a human being.

Wait. Mating dance? What was she doing? She tensed suddenly, which made him pause just before he reached her lips. He released her, and sitting back up, he carefully offered his hand to help her sit.

"Sorry about that. You okay?"

His dejected voice made her heart ache. She hadn't meant for him to stop!

"I'm fine. I didn't mean— I mean, I…." Her words trailed off. What had she meant? She didn't know, but her heart pounded with misery. She wanted him to come back, to kiss her, she'd been waiting all day!

"It's alright." He stood up, again offering his hand to help her. "Why don't you go get cleaned up? I'll finish here." He turned and started gathering rags.

She watched him silently for a moment before turning away. What had just happened? How had it ended so abruptly?

* * *

Han slammed the valet door closed after tossing in the rags. He grabbed a mop and quickly cleaned up the rest of the floor. Would he never learn? That woman was off limits. She did not want his attention and he would do well to just leave her completely alone.

He took the mop and rinsed it in the sink before going to put it away. But then he stopped, and leaning against the counter in the small galley, he stroked his jaw in thought. As he replayed her actions in his mind, he felt his frustration ebb away, slight confusion in its place. Before he'd physically trapped her, (which he definitely shouldn't do again) she'd been smiling and teasing him, openly flirting. She'd even admitted to wanting to kiss him again! So why the sudden shift?

Of their own accord, Han's thoughts returned to their kiss in the South Passage, how Leia had leaned into him, wanting more. She still did, he believed, but maybe she just needed more time. He would slow down, watch her cues. It was important to him that she want this as much as he did.

Han smiled to himself as he stowed the mop. He realized he'd never before put this much thought - this much _care_ \- into pursuing a woman. The fact that he hadn't yet given up on Leia, despite her near-constant rebuttals of his casual advances, made him wonder for a moment _why_ he was trying so hard.

Han was still deep in thought as he walked toward the cockpit. Perhaps Leia also needed a little prodding: a reason to be close to him. After all, she wasn't one to simply plop herself down in his lap. He needed to get her closer.

As he prepared the ship for takeoff, he formulated his plan.

..

* * *

Leia sat on the bunk as she combed out her wet hair. She'd taken a quick shower, rinsing off the soap and then changing into her nightclothes.

She'd felt the ship lift off not too long ago, and since Han hadn't called her, she assumed he didn't need her help as a copilot, so she planned to spend the evening in the cabin, alone, trying to figure out what was going on inside her head.

 _Confusion, that's what's going on,_ she thought as she glanced at her datapad. She sat down on the bed and picked it up, intending to look at her list again, when suddenly the proximity alarm went off. She flew out of bed and ran out the door. Were they being attacked? Had they somehow come out of hyperspace too close to a planet? As she ran down the hallway towards the cockpit, she didn't feel the ship swerving or anything outside of the ordinary thrum of the engines.

"Han?" she called out as she palmed the cockpit door open. Han sat calmly in his seat, poking buttons.

He turned to her. "Hey. Sorry about that. Did it wake you?"

"What was it?" she asked, ignoring his question. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah. Everything's fine. Stupid prox alarm is just too sensitive. We passed some debris a ways back. It's fine. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh." She remained unmoving as her adrenaline-rush slowly subsided. Placing a hand in the chair in front of her, she looked out at the stars for a moment, searching for anything that might have triggered the alarm. Han seemed completely unconcerned, but her heart still pounded in her chest.

"It's fine, really. Nothin' out there," he said, gesturing in front of him.

She nodded, her brow furrowed.

"Have a seat?" It sounded like both a question and an invitation.

Looking down at her bare feet, she absently rubbed her bare arms. It didn't seem very proper, with her wearing only her soft sleep pants and undershirt. She also hadn't finished fixing her hair and it lay loose and damp around her shoulders. But she found herself sitting anyway. Thankfully, the lights were dimmed.

It struck her that Han rarely had the lights dimmed in the cockpit, even at night.

"You warm enough?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." As she settled in, comfortable in Chewbacca's soft chair, Leia smiled at the cozy atmosphere in the small cockpit. The darkness, the stars moving slowly by…

"Kinda cozy, isn't it?" he said, leaning back in his chair, hands locked under his head as he stared out the viewport.

"I was just thinking that."

They were quiet for a time. She couldn't tell if it was awkward, and so decided that it wasn't. She relaxed further into the chair, following Han's lead in leaning back.

"I'm sorry if I scared you earlier," he said suddenly, surprising her.

He sure was saying sorry a lot lately.

"It's okay. I wasn't scared…" She chewed her lip.

"Well, sorry I moved too fast, then."

"You didn't, I mean—I wanted you… I wasn't trying to…" She sat up a little more, and determined to finish, she cleared her throat. "I wasn't trying to make you stop. I'd just had a moment where I wasn't sure what I was doing."

"That must have been a weird feeling for you."

She blinked and looked at him. "What?"

"To have a moment where you weren't sure of something."

"It happens more often than you might think." She smiled. This is was better. Light teasing was always preferable to awkwardness. She relaxed back into her chair.

"I doubt it. I think you always know what you're doing, just sometimes you don't realize it."

She didn't know what to say to that, so she remained quiet.

"You sure you're warm enough?" Han said after a few minutes. "It's easy to turn the heat up in here." His voice sounded deeper than usual.

"I'm fine, really," she answered. She propped her feet up on the dash in front of her, smiling again. This was fun. Why had she avoided him for so long? She'd always figured she was too busy. Thinking of having a romantic relationship, flirting or even just playing around felt too frivolous and wasteful of her all too-limited time. And of course there was always the threat of Han leaving her stranded with a broken heart… But if her light heart and warm skin were any indication, frivolity might just be good for her. And it seemed plausible that he might just stick around for awhile.

She stole a glance at him. He seemed to be smiling to himself as he sat back in his chair. Maybe he'd even stick around for a long while. A really long while.

"I'm gonna get some kaffe. You want some?" Han asked, standing up and stepping towards the door.

"Sure," she said, getting up with the intention of going to help him. He'd already started out the door, but then suddenly turned back, bumping into her.

"Oh," she said, quietly. She hadn't planned that, but now as his hands were on her shoulders, she wondered if he had.

"You okay?"

She nodded up at him. His hands stroked her arms. Up and down, the slight friction made her feel even warmer than before. Would he kiss her now? Her instincts told her yes, and her heart went straight into lightspeed.

"Good."

He pulled her close against himself. Her heartbeat quickened, expecting a kiss, but instead, as he held her, he reached his other hand around and flipped a switch.

"If you're not going to be here I gotta put the alarm back on."

"Oh," was all she could muster, disappointment seeping in. Maybe someone needed to be on watch? Maybe he didn't want her to go with him. Maybe...

Suddenly she realized he wasn't releasing her. His arm still held her close and he made no further movements for the door. His other arm came around her, and gently, carefully he brushed the hair back from her shoulders.

"Leia?" His voice was only a whisper as he looked into her eyes.

She looked up, way up, searching his face. In answer, she stood on her toes, trying to close some of the gap between them, but she couldn't quite manage it, especially with him in his boots and her in her bare feet. But he seemed to have understood. Their lips brushed tentatively. Then again, lingering longer and longer with each touch. She felt they were both questioning the other; _was this okay?_ After the false starts of the last twenty-four hours, they were both hesitant. But for her, the answer was yes. A thousand times yes.

As Han's arms tightened around her, Leia slowly put her own arms around him. But she felt unsure whether to clasp her hands together behind him or settle them on his body somewhere. All of a sudden he seemed huge and with so much territory, she had trouble picking a safe place.

Han had no such trouble. His hands gently roamed her back, and reaching the top of her shirt, he rubbed her bare shoulders, pulling her even closer. When he shifted slightly and she felt his tongue graze her lips, her hands suddenly figured out what to do. She let them slide up under his arms, tracing the slightly flexing muscles.

At last, he pulled away. With his hands on either shoulder, he smiled down ar her. Kissing him was just as good as she'd remembered. Better even, since now she was fully aware and not caught by surprise.

"Okay?"

She nodded, still smiling.

"You sure know how to make a guy forget what he was doing." He kissed her again, lightly this time, but not hurried. "Kaffe. I was getting kaffe."

"Kaffe sounds good," she said. How had he grown more handsome in just a few minutes?

Han didn't move for the door. His hand traveled up her arm and rested on her neck, under her hair. She wasn't used to wearing so little covering, but she thanked the stars for the thin straps on her shirt and just enjoyed the feel of his hands on her skin. Why oh _why_ had she fought this?

His thumb stroked the side of her face, and as if he just couldn't help himself, he brought his lips back to hers.

His other hand had slipped under the hem of her shirt, gently massaging her back. Yesterday she would have slapped his face for such a move, but today, everything was different. The feathery kisses allowed her to choose the pace. For a few moments, she simply enjoyed the moment and relaxed against him.

Finally, taking a deep breath, he stepped back.

"Kaffe," she said, thankful her voice worked at all.

"Kaffe. Definitely Kaffe." He kissed her again as he dragged his body towards the door.

"Why don't you have a seat? I'll get it and bring it back."

"Okay."

His hand slid down the length of her arm, holding her hand briefly before bringing it to his mouth and kissing it, then with obvious reluctance, he turned and left.

Leia sat back down, tucking her feet beneath her. She couldn't help a smile as she looked over at his empty pilot's seat. Everything she had thought about Han seemed wrong now. She'd only thought of him as a mercenary, a scoundrel even. Irritating at times for sure. But, he was also gentle and kind. She was touched by his careful consideration of her feelings.

She turned to look at the stars, her mind wandering. If not for that proximity alarm, she'd still have been back on the bunk, alone and miserable, and probably staring at that stupid list.

Wait a minute. She could distinctly remember Chewbacca and Han proudly talking about their highly-modified prox alarm. "Not a better one to be found in the whole Rebel Fleet," Han had said. She wondered if he had purposely triggered it somehow.

When Han returned with their kaffe, she watched closely as he checked all the gauges and screens before turning to look at her.

"Enough cream?" he asked.

She took a sip of the hot kaffe. "Yes." His dark eyes held hers, once again causing heat to flow through her body, right down to her toes. So what if he'd set off the alarm? It had worked.

"So, Ord Mantell's next, huh?"

She nodded, thinking ahead to their next mission together. Her heart squeezed in anticipation.

"Maybe while we're there we can scrub the floor of the galley."

He said it so casually, eyeing her over the rim of his kaffe cup, that it took her a second to catch on. She nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sure it needs it." She took a sip of her kaffe, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Chewie keeps it pretty clean, but you could always spill something on it."

"I might just do that." Leia answered with a small smile. She wasn't sure how it had happened, but she could feel her feeble walls crumbling to the ground, and in their place, was Han.


End file.
